I will personally be spending this spooky night with approximately 42 ounces of coffee in my system and a chemistry report on my computer screen. But a great number of other Americans (insert Buzzfeed statistic here) will be out and about celebrating with costume parties, in haunted houses, or out on the streets trick or treating. Before we get to far into this, you and me, I want you to know that this blog post is not about Halloween. This is about a quote mentioned in "Redesigning Pocahontas" and the recurring theme in critiquing Disney that something is only "wrong" if someone mentions it.
The public rarely complains about the lack of historical background in Disney Halloween films. No one blames Disney for not giving adequate information of All Hallow's Eve, an ancient Christian theme that was celebrated by a feast in respect for the saints, or about Samhain, the contemporary "pagan" holiday that was celebrated by the ancient Irish. I do not pretend to have any extensive knowledge of these holidays, nor do I celebrate them. But I do know that a few people do truly celebrate, few being the operative word here.
In "Redesigning Pocahontas" Peter Schneider is quoted saying, "We never wanted to do a docu-drama, but something inspired by legend." (93). Because he says this in response to a film based on the story of a well known and respected, native American woman whom actually lived of course it is unacceptable and causes quite the outrage. But if he said this in the wake of releasing a Halloween film that borrowed the name and legends of real life characters, it would surely be okay? No one really celebrates All Hallow's Eve or Samhain. There is no one who will be offended by this depiction.
Ahhh. Isn't that an easy way of approaching history? If we would just stop mentioning slavery, was it really that bad? If no one complained about Asian stereotypes, we could have as many Long Duk Dong's as we pleased. But as soon as someone sees it, feels strongly enough to say something about it? Shame on Disney! How dare they! We should write an article, maybe send a tweet. And then we can pat ourselves on the back, say that Disney should be more historically accurate (or just shrug and say that they can't) and go on our merry ways.
It is a hard decision to make. Do we hold Disney responsible for educating young minds, incorporate accurate history lessons into our magical getaways? Or do we let them recreate our legends, and leave it to parents to steer them straight? I'm not sure which one is the "right" choice, but I do know that picking and choosing is wrong.
Happy Halloween! Maybe if I have time after this two page Latin translation I will go back and really read the interesting history about the night when the veil between the living and dead is so thin.
http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/all-hallow-s-eve.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/halloween_1.shtml
https://www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/celebrating-the-seasons/celebrating-samhain
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